The Godessy
by justagirlwithideas
Summary: To Percy, it's a curse. To Katie, an assignment. To Clarisse, an ordeal. To Annabeth, a test. In reality? It's a newspaper. The gang is required to publish a camp newspaper for Ancient Greek class. Challenges, complaints, creativity, and chaos ensue.
1. The Assignment

**New story. This takes place in the summer of TLO, after the war is over. I'm planning on releasing this in four parts- The Assignment, A Work in Progress, The Finished Product, and The Reactions. I hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

It was approximately three o'clock in the afternoon when Annabeth barged in breathlessly to Percy's cabin, her sweaty bangs stuck to her forehead. Her boyfriend lay in a tangled heap on the bunk, a cacophony of snores issuing from his slobbery mouth.

"Percy!" Annabeth hissed. The boy didn't move. With an exasperated roll of the eyes, she snatched his pillow from underneath his head and promptly started thumping him with it.

"What'sgoingon..." Percy groaned, eyes opening groggily.

"I'm not going to let you ditch Ancient Greek class again," Annabeth snapped, folding her arms. "Trying to get out of it with an afternoon nap isn't going to work this time."

She tried her best to remain austere, but the comical expression on Percy's face caused her to crack. With a giggle, Annabeth pulled him up to his feet. "Hurry up, Seaweed Brain," she called over her shoulder as she exited the room. "And wipe the drool off your face before you leave the cabin!"

Miraculously enough, the two managed to slip into the classroom before the lesson commenced. Miss Lilac, their wood nymph teacher, stood up and beamed at the group of demigods that all slouched sluggishly in their seats. Somehow she decode the message that none of them wanted to be there.

"Good afternoon!" her piping voice rang throughout the small room. A collection of mumbled "good afternoon"s echoed back. "Today, I've got the most exciting lesson planned!" she assured them. The demigods highly doubted that. The class consisted of only campers who had visited more than three years, so they all were well informed on how boring ancient Greek lessons were.

Miss Lilac continued. "You all are fairly fluent in Ancient Greek now, so I'm assigning a project that I think you can handle competently!" Murmurs of shock and horror meandered across the room.

"A project?"

"You can't be serious."

"We're at summer _camp, _not summer _school!_"

Their teacher clasped her hands together in delight. "Oh wonderful, you're all so excited!"

Percy groaned. "She's finally lost it," he whispered to Annabeth, who gave him a sharp pencil poke. Chastised, he immediately turned back to the teacher.

"You are going to be creating a complete camp newspaper in Ancient Greek and are required to print enough copies for every camper. I'm arranging with Chiron the possibility of even delivering it to Mount Olympus!"

Percy buried his head in his hands. "We're doomed," he said, and this time Annabeth couldn't disagree with him.

Katie Gardner's hand shot up. "Please Miss Lilac, it's really unnecessary to have our parents read it!" she pleaded.

"Oh no," Lilac said, her voice still sugar sweet. "No one will take this assignment seriously if they don't. This camp elective has been treated as a joke for far too long. You don't realize how important it is to be fluent in the vernacular! I won't put up with nonsense any longer! You are going to write this newspaper, and you are going to do it right!"

A shrill squeak escaped her lips, and everyone stared at her in silent wonder. Never in all of their years at camp had they ever heard her utter an angry word, and certainly never a heated tirade.

"Glad to clear that up," Miss Lilac said, taking a deep breath. "Now who would like to write one of the articles? It would probably be nice to have a couple stories of different categories- maybe one for sports-,"

Chris Rodriguez's hand shot up. "I can take that one," he said quickly, and all the other boys groaned.

"Wonderful! And probably another one on Home and Architecture-,"

Annabeth flung her hand into the air, smacking Percy's face in the process.

"Don't worry Miss Chase, I already had you written down for that," Miss Lilac said with a small smile. "We'll need a few advertisements," she continued, "who would like to take those?"

The Stoll brothers nodded at each other from across the room and simultaneously raised their hands. "Good, good..." the nymph murmured, marking down the volunteers. "I'm going to need some with an artistic eye to obtain everyone else's articles and compile them into one piece. They will also have the privilege of naming the paper."

Drew Rosette from the Aphrodite cabin raised her hand, but Katie Gardner beat her to it. "Alright, Katie will be in charge of that," their teacher decided, and the Drew glared daggers at the daughter of Demeter.

"And I was going to include a letter to the editor segment, but technically you're all editors so I've changed it up a bit. You'll be writing a letter to a god of your choice, commending or criticizing them on something they've done. Within reason of course," she added quickly. Percy raised a half-hearted hand, figuring he could power out a measly paragraph in thirty minutes and be done.

"Alright, that leaves on the obituary!" Miss Lilac said turning to Clarisse.

"What's an obituary?"

"An account on the life of someone recently deceased. In this case, you'll be writing about one of the halfbloods who died in the war."

Clarisse didn't even try to hide her scowl.

"Excuse me, Miss Lilac," Drew called out from the back of the room. "But it seems that you've forgotten about me and McKenna."

"Oh my! So sorry, you two! I suppose you can write obituaries like Clarisse."

"I had another idea, actually," Drew said innocently enough, but the other demigods could detect the layers of charmspeak in her voice. "How about Kenna and I write the gossip column?"

"Well...I suppose...isn't that for magazines though?"

"Oh no, Miss Lilac, newspapers can have them as well."

"Then it's fine with me," their teacher said in a daze, scribbling down their names. "I suppose that's everyone. Come up here and get your assignment sheets, then we'll begin!" With reluctance, the campers clambered to their feet and made their way to the front desk.

If only Miss Lilac knew what she was getting her pupils into! The demigods' crazy summer was about to get crazier.

** Kind of a short first chapter, don't worry, it's only going to get better from here. Review, pretty please!**


	2. The Work in Progress

**Part Two: The Work in Process. Please read and review and all that jazz :)**

** Disclaimer: I. Am. Not. Rick. Riordan.**

The clouds scuttled across an ocean sky and the sun's warmth blanketed every corner of Camp Halfblood. A soft breeze danced through the strawberry fields and ruffled the tree branches. Kids from all over the area splashed and squealed in the shallows of the ocean and teens lounged lazily in the heat. It was clear all of New York agreed on one thing: it would be foolish to not enjoy a day like this outside.

"I swear, the weather's mocking us," Percy said mournfully, a stubby pencil in hand and a blank paper in the other. He glanced wistfully at two young campers who laughed and tossed a tetherball back and forth from outside the confines of his cabin.

Annabeth's ponytail swished back and forth as she nodded in agreement. "Well, think of it this way- the sooner we finish up this assignment, the sooner we get to go outside. Hand me your paper, I want to see what you have so far."

Percy bit his lip guiltily and held up his paper.

"Its whiteness is blinding me," Annabeth sighed. "Cover it up with some words."

"I'm lacking inspiration."

"You've never disagreed with a god's actions before?" she asked dubiously.

"I wouldn't say that. I just don't know how to phrase it without sounding extremely- you know- impolite and stuff."

Annabeth laughed. "It'll come," she assured him.

Percy readjusted his clipboard and stuck his pencil to the page. "Maybe if I hold my hand here long enough, it'll write for me," he said slowly.

"And maybe Nico will turn preppy and Grover will boycott burritos. Just get to work, Seaweed Brain."

Travis clapped his hands together in triumph. "Finished!" he cried out jubilantly.

"Lemme see," Katie said, snatching the paper from his hand.

"Announcement to all campers," she read aloud. "If you are in need of the services of you-know-who to fetch you whatever you are in want of, meet them you-know-where whenever they are available. Bring money."

Katie coughed. "I'm sorry, am I supposed to understand this?"

Travis smiled good-naturedly at her. "Katie, Katie, Katie. So much to learn. Obviously the you-know-whos are Connor and I. Our services are to acquire whatever our customer wants- by means of stealth and thievery. The you-know-where is clearly the Hermes cabin, whenever we are inside. How much clarity do you want?"

She arched a brow and shook her head. "Travis, are you taking your names out because you're scared you're going to get caught?"

"I'm not scared! It would just be an inconvenience."

"Mmmm, _right. _Well, I think you should know that Chiron and Mr. D. have been well informed of your smuggling and stealing activities for the past five years. If they wanted to put a stop to it, they could have done so ages ago. Why don't you just insert your names and clarify which cabin to visit? Then you might actually get an increase in business."

Travis wrinkled his nose. "I don't think I will."

"You mind elaborating on that decision?"

"I don't think I'm going to listen to you. You always have the better idea, but this time I'm going to go with my own. Just to shake it up."

He was only being defiant to goad her and Katie knew it. "Fine," she said, a small smirk on her face. "But just know when I put together the newspaper, I'm changing your ad to make it right."

"Why do you always get the last word?" Travis groaned in defeat.

Chris was sitting on their favorite log in the forest clearing, noodling around on his guitar, when Clarisse emerged from of the trees to join him. He popped his pick into his pocket and gave her one of his rare smiles. She didn't return it.

"Hey," Chris said, slightly nervous. He hoped he hadn't caught her in one of her infamously unpleasant moods again. The last time Clarisse been in one of those, she had sat brooding in silence the whole date and ended up snapping a tree branch in two. It had supposedly symbolized Percy Jackson's neck.

Clarisse slumped onto the log, folding her arms under her chest. "Hey," he tried again.

Silence.

"What's up, Riss? Is it those annoying first years again?"

A slight shake of the head.

"Something you ate?"

Another head shake.

"I'm not going to play guessing games all day. You know you can talk to me, right?"

"It's Sil," Clarisse said, breaking her silence at last.

"Oh," Chris said softly. He was one of the few who knew how hard Silena's death had been on Clarisse. She'd tried her best to cover up her grief with the tough-girl act, but he had seen through it in a flash.

"Yeah. You know I'm featuring her for my obituary, don't you?"

"Oh," Chris said again. "No, you didn't tell me that."

"Well, it's got me thinking. About how she lived a lie, died a hero. That's what everyone's been saying, right."

"I guess."

"Well I don't think that's right. I don't think she lived a lie. She was so sincere about everything- about helping me when you were unstable, about watching out for the rest of her cabin, about Beckendorf-," her voice broke.

"I want to say that in my segment, but I don't know how. She deserves something really good. I don't know what to say. I need to make sure everyone knows that she didn't in vain. Sh-she sacrificed her-herself. Wh-why do people have to d-die?" Clarisse buried her head in her hands.

Chris gave her only a gentle pat on the back, knowing she didn't really like to be touched. Picking up his pick, he started to play "Yesterdays," one of their favorite songs.

"_I remember you like yesterday, yesterday,_" he sang quietly to her. "_I still can't believe your gone."_

Clarisse wiped a tear from her eye and joined in softly. "_I remember you like yesterday, yesterday. And until I'm with you, I'll carry on."_

"How's this?" Percy asked, pushing his paper to Annabeth from across the desk. Her fingers ceased their clicking across Daedalus's laptop and she picked up the page.

The writing scrawled across the paper would have been illegible to most people, but Annabeth had deciphered his crammed and smudgy printing enough times to get the gist of his works. The paper read:

_Dear Ares,_

_ Though you are pretty awesome, being the god of war and all, I have disagreed with several of your decisions during the annual meetings on Mount Olympus. Throughout the years, you have voted to have me killed several times and I don't think this is a good answer. Even though I might be a little dangerous and unpredictable, I believe that ending my life is a little extreme. I hope someday you can agree. _

_ -Percy Jackson_

Annabeth stifled a snort as she set the paper down.

"What did you think?" he asked excitedly.

She did not answer immediately. "Percy...do you want to get yourself incinerated?"

"What?"

"You heard me. This letter is far too bold. And I'm saying this because I value your life. I don't know what was going through your head when you decided to criticize a god who would treasure your head on a platter! No. This needs to be redone."

She said it with such forcefulness that Percy actually crumpled the paper and threw it away like a reprimanded schoolboy.

"I guess you're right," he said, digging around through the heap of papers on the desk. "I just wanted to add a bit of humor to the paper- especially when there's articles in it like yours that are so..."

"Dry?" Annabeth offered, sounding slightly hurt.

"Er, I meant sophisticated," Percy said quickly.

"Nice save."

She pulled a blank paper from the pile and jammed his pencil into the sharpener.

"Rewrite it. Now," she said, setting the supplies on his side of the table. Obediently, he snatched up the pencil and began again. It was with great effort that Annabeth fought the urge to laugh.

The newspaper assignment had originally been treated like a clandestine conspiracy operation- not a soul outside of the class was to know. However, as the week progressed, one would have to be both blind and deaf to not realize what the group was setting out to do.

Drew and McKenna kept bright pink clipboards with them at all times, scribbling furiously on them whenever a boy and a girl stepped within two feet of each other. Katie could often be seen running across the camp, screaming at random people to hurry up and finish their segments already. And Chris actually raised his hand halfway through the singalong of "There Once Was a God From Athens" to interview Chiron.

"In what year did you start the camp tradition of Capture the Flag?" he asked the centaur, ignoring the looks of umbrage on the Apollo campers' faces. They were hardcore about their singalongs.

Chiron stared at him in bemusement, and then chuckled once or twice. "Before the beginning of time," he replied. Not a single camper doubted the statement- for all they knew, Chiron was older than the gods themselves.

"Agh!" Katie moaned, wadding up another piece of paper and shooting it at the trash can in the corner of the cabin. It missed.

"Calm down Katie, we're going to find a perfectly good name for the paper. Just google it or something."

"_No, _you don't _understand. _It needs to _original._"

"Okay...how about the Camp Halfblood Chronicle?" Travis offered.

"Not clever enough," came the veto.

"What do you mean? It's an alliteration-thingy!"

"It's lame."

"Fine. How about...The New York Times: Ancient Greek Edition?"

"I'm telling you, that's so _unoriginal._"

"The Daily Demigod?"

"Overdone."

"Overdone? Since when has there ever been a demigod newspaper before?" Travis cried, throwing his hands up in disbelief.

"I don't know, it's just not very catchy!" she snapped back.

"Forget it. You think of something better."

"Thanks. I will," she retorted as he exited the room in rage. And that's when it came to her.

"Annabeth!" Percy sang, throwing his paper toward her.

"Read it!"

"Okay, okay!" she gasped, catching it in the air before a draft carried it away.

About thirty seconds passed before Annabeth looked up again. Percy fidgeted in his seat anxiously, awaiting her verdict.

"You spelt appreciate wrong," she finally replied, handing it back to him. But Percy knew he had done well; the tips of her lips tugged at a smile.

It was precisely at this moment that Drew and McKenna stuck their heads in through the cabin's open door. "Aww, how sweet. Working together on their project. Or at least that's what they want us to think," Drew cooed, raising an eyebrow suggestively.

Annabeth and Percy's jaws dropped and they both started protesting in unison.

"No, see here, we just finished our papers-,"

"_Seriously _Drew, you're not going to put this in the paper-,"

McKenna let out a cackle and jotted down something on her sparkly clipboard.

"Let's head back to the cabin, Drew- we've got a lot more material to work with now," she snickered, and the two disappeared, leaving only their perfume's aromas behind.

"Remind me to become sick the day this newspaper is released," Annabeth grumbled.

"Oh gods," Percy whimpered, checking the date. "That's tomorrow."

** Whew! Long chapter, I hope you liked it! Please review, it's always greatly appreciated. **


	3. The Finished Product

**Here's part three: The Final Product. A special thanks to all my reviewers, you motivate me to update more frequently! And to all those who were wondering, the song that I used in the last chapter is by one of my favorite bands, Switchfoot. Just giving them their creds :) All right- you know the drill- read, review, and enjoy!**

**(For all those who forgot, I'm still not Rick Riordan).**

**THE GODESSY**

_**The leading newspaper in all current events of Greek gods and their offspring**_

**August 26, 2006**

**Sports and Recreation**

**SWORD FIGHTING PROGRAM TO RECRUIT NEW INSTRUCTORS**

_Due to casualties from the Battle of Manhattan, the recreation station is holding tryouts for interested and skilled swordsmen_

**Written by Chris Rodriguez**

Many lives were lost and wounds ran deep after the recent battle against Kronos, resulting in a significant loss of sports instructors. The sword fighting station has possibly lost the most- seven talented trainers. Head instructor Percy Jackson has struggled to find adequate substitutes and has turned to the option of tryouts to solve this issue.

"It's open to all who are good with a sword and are patient with others. If you're the type who are tempted to maim others when they struggle to follow instruction, then this job is not for you," Jackson said. Assistant head instructors Travis and Connor Stoll look forward to the trials next Saturday and are excited to see what hidden talents come out.

"People can really surprise you," Travis explains. "You would have never known they had the skill in them."

Chiron, camp activities instructor, highly approves of Jackson's decision to hold tryouts. In the past, instructors had sometimes selected friends to join up instead of more proficient swordsmen that they weren't as close to. By holding tryouts, bias decisions can be avoided.

If you are interested in trying out to be a sword trainer, please contact Percy Jackson by next Thursday or sign up on the list in the sword arena.

**Home and Architecture**

**OLYMPUS RENOVATION PROJECT UNDERWAY **

_Architects have began designing blueprints for a new and improved Olympus, building is estimated to begin in late October. _

**Written by Annabeth Chase**

Ashes are to be erected into grand Doric-styled buildings and rubble is being turned into magnificent marble monuments, according to the blueprints of Mount Olympus architects. If one good thing was to come from the destruction of the god's great city, it was the opportunity to construct an even more breathtaking only than before.

The designers have extremely ambitious plans and are determined to see them through to full potential. Designs will be more intricate, towers stretching taller, and pillars far stronger. It's going to be a very costly renovation, but what is built in the next decade will stand for centuries to come. The gods have pooled their wealth and resources together to invest in a beautiful new city.

"The final design is to be revealed to the gods in the last week of September," Annabeth Chase, executive architect, shares. "Everyone on the team has agreed to not release any blueprints before that date. We're all thrilled with how the designs are turning out and look to the release day with great anticipation- hopefully the gods will be pleased as well."

Chase disclosed no further information, except for the hint that one can expect "lots and lots of marble." More information will be published at the end of September after the gods' council; then the building process will be initiated and an architect's dream solidified as reality.

**An Advertisement**

**ANNOUNCEMENT TO ALL CAMPERS**

If you are require of the services of Travis and Connor Stoll to fetch you whatever you are in need of, meet them at the Hermes cabin whenever they are available. Bring money.

_Please be aware that the employees will use all means possible to obtain the item of your wishes. If you are not willing to take responsibility for law-breaking charges, then do not waste their time with your complaints. Thank you._

**Featured Letter to Olympus**

**TO HERMES, GOD OF MESSENGERS, TRAVELERS, THIEVES, AND ORACLES**

Dear Hermes,

I cannot criticize or compliment you on the way you raised your son Luke, but I do have an opinion on it. Though you left him at an early age, I don't believe this was one of your faults. All demigod children have to grow up without the presence of their godly parent, and Luke was no exception. However, I don't think it was acceptable for you to abandon May Castellan, when she was left in such a fragile state of mind, to raise Luke by herself. I think it traumatized her son and was one of the main reasons he despised you. I do appreciate the actions you took later in Luke's life to make things up to him. Even though your son made a lot of bad decisions, you still had hope for him and worked hard to make things right. I think you deserve some recognition there. In the end, Luke forgave you for everything. I heard him myself. You may have made some mistakes as a father, but you did a lot of good as well.

-Percy Jackson

**Gossip Column**

**CAMPFIRE DATING HEATS UP**

_A notable amount of couples have gotten together after all the drama during the Battle of Manhattan. The campfire, now open on nights without singalongs, has became the new daters' hangout. _

**Written by Drew Rosette and McKenna Seely**

It's quite well known that Silena Beauregard and Charles Beckendorf paved the way for Camp Halfblood campers and set the standards for dating. However, it's Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase, the camp's newest item, that have started the trend for campfire dating. Percy and Annabeth, or should we say Percabeth, can usually be spotted there on a particularly nice evening- if not in one of their cabins enjoying a little more intimacy (if you know what we mean). Now it's become the hotspot for summer love- the newest couples like Travis Stoll and Katie Gardner, Will Solace and Rebecca Cross, and Chris Rodriguez and Clarisse La Rue regularly visit the romantic sight on a weekly basis.

With so many new boyfriends and girlfriends at camp, one can only wonder how long love will last. We polled campers that are well acquainted with both halves of the couples to see how long they thought each would last:

Chris Rodriguez and Clarisse La Rue:

An estimated 17 months.

Reasoning: The two get along pretty well, but Clarisse's temper will be too much for Chris to handle for over a year or so.

Travis Stoll and Katie Gardner:

A very large span of estimations, from one week to sixty years.

Reasoning: All interviewees claimed they _never _saw this one coming. "They're going to end up murdering or marrying each other. Or maybe a little of both," Connor Stoll (Travis's brother) claims.

Will Solace and Rebecca Cross:

An estimated 6 weeks.

Reasoning: The two haven't known each other long enough. This is Rebecca's first year at camp and there just isn't enough background between the two of them.

Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase:

An estimated sixty years (or however long they live to).

Reasoning: According to all of the couple's friends, the two are made for each other- despite the fact that they are polar opposites. "In this case, opposites attract," Grover Underwood explains. "Percy is Annabeth's other half, and vice versa. We've all seen this coming since they were twelve."

It's clear it doesn't really matter how long the couples last- the fact is obvious. Boyfriends and girlfriends thrive in post-war atmospheres. The question now is: who's going to be the next hot topic?

**An Advertisement**

**ANNOUNCEMENT TO ALL SINGLE LADIES**

If you are in need of a hot date to the fireworks show, see Connor Stoll for list of available guy campers. Date will be decided by compatibility test created by the Aphrodite cabin. Please sign up before August 30th.

**An Obituary**

**SILENA BEAUREGARD, DAUGHTER OF APHRODITE, DIES AT AGE 18**

_They say she lived a lie and died a hero, but in truth she was a hero all along._

**Written by Clarisse La Rue**

Silena Beauregard, head counselor of the Aphrodite cabin, lived every day to the fullest with a bright smile and a warm laugh. The Fates were cruel to limit these days to such a small number.

Silena grew up in New York City, like many demigods that attend Camp Halfblood. Undiscovered by monsters until the age of twelve, she managed to have a fairly peaceful childhood, despite the constant transferring from one school to another. Camp was her favorite part of the year- a chance to get away from the conformities of school, ride Pegasi (her favorite sport), and spend time with her best friends in the world. Silena always could be seen with a crowd of people around her, people were instantly attracted to her kindness, sparkling personality, and looks worthy of her mother.

"Everyone loved Silena," Katie Gardner, one of her companions, remembers. "Not only was she sweet and beautiful, but she was just fun to be around."

In Silena's third year at camp, Luke Castellan (later to become Kronos) approached her with the proposition of feeding him information about the camp and its activities. Charmed by his good looks and his promises that fewer lives would be lost this way, Silena agreed. She thought she was doing it for the good of the camp and believing Luke's trickery. It was not easy to be a spy, but Silena sacrificed her discomforts for what she thought was the greater good.

It was a horrible blow to Silena when her boyfriend Beckendorf died, despite Luke's oath he would not be harmed. At that point, she resolved to work as a spy no longer, but was blackmailed into continuing the job (at the stakes of her secret being revealed to the camp).

In the end, Silena bravely lead the Ares cabin into battle when their foolish and stubborn counselor would not. She had far more courage than any other Aphrodite child ever had- the nerve to march straight into battle without adequate training or skill. Some view it as suicide, but it truly was a girl's final stand and last chance to make things right, which she did. Though drakon poison ran through her veins, the blood of a traitor did not. Silena was free of her crimes and died a hero's death.

She was loved and will always be missed. Rest in peace Silena Beauregard- may your heart find its way to the Isles of the Blest.

_This newspaper was translated into English by Annabeth Chase. _συνοδεύω ευλογώ.

**I hope you liked the chapter! I tried to make the demigods' writing a little less sophisticated, but it probably is still rather out of character. Oh well. Stay tuned for the final chapter and please review! As Annabeth wrote, συνοδεύω ευλογώ (which means to go with blessings in Ancient Greek).**


	4. The Reactions

** The last chapter! I hope you all have enjoyed this silly short story :) A special thanks to all who reviewed- you guys are simply the best. If you enjoyed this fic, please check out my other stories and stay tuned for more!**

"Miss Lilac is going to _pay,_" Percy said through clenched teeth as his hand reluctantly parted with one of the papers in a never-ending pile. The young camper on the receiving end beamed and skipped off, no doubt going to show her new prize to all her little friends.

"Not only did we have to write that stupid paper, but now we have to hand it out to the whole entire camp!" Percy whined to Annabeth as he heaved another stack of their projects up onto the stand where they stood.

"Grin and bear it," Annabeth said through a contrived smile, plopping a newspaper into another camper's arms. "Wait a week, this will all be over."

"But did you_ see _what Drew and McKenna wrote about us?"

"With you basically shoving it up my eyeballs I didn't have much of a choice, did I? Really it's not that bad, I mean they obviously see a lot of potential in our relationship-,"

"I'm not talking about _that. _I'm talking about what was left implied in their article, and the fact that they given us some couple name like we're celebrities in a gossip magazine!"

"Keep your voice down," she muttered.

"You've got nothing to really worry about, I guess. Your article was perfect," Percy said bitterly.

"No, it was embarrassing. It said on that assignment sheet that the article required one quote, and I couldn't interview anyone on the subject because I'm the only one in on the architectural designs of Olympus. So I had to interview _myself. _Do you know how humiliating it was to publish that?"

"Aw, it's not that bad."

"Yes, it is," Annabeth insisted, offering a paper to Nyssa from the Hephaestus cabin. She declined them with a shake of her head, massaging her arms as she walked past their table.

"Rough day in the forges?" Annabeth asked sympathetically.

"Not exactly. It's just that for the last day all we've been doing is cranking out papers in Chiron's old printing press. That old centaur hasn't had a technology update since 1436, so we've been using one as old as Gutenburg himself."

Annabeth's eyes widened. "He really should donate that to a museum or something- an artifact like that is priceless!"

Nyssa sighed wearily. "Not to me it isn't. I have half a mind to toss that wretched machine into Chesapeake Bay. I don't even want to look at that newspaper again- I probably have the whole thing memorized from all the hours I stood there printing it."

She pushed up her bandana and walked away without another word.

"Miss Lilac is taking this way to far," Percy said, shaking his head at Nyssa's receding figure. "It's like the Hephaetus cabin is under slave labor or something."

"Just a week and it'll all blow over," Annabeth murmured, but Percy suspected it was more for her benefit than his.

Travis flipped through the pages quickly, and chuckled with amusement. "Murder or marry each other, huh? Sounds about right."

Katie took the paper from his hands and glanced at the gossip column. "I was going to change it- being the collaborator of the articles and all- but there was too much truth in the statement. I didn't have the heart to cut it out."

"Everything looks pretty good, I'll give you creds," Travis said, flipping back to the front page. "Except for this."

He tapped the big letters reading 'THE GODESSY' and made a tisking noise. "This is more unoriginal than all of my title ideas combined! The_ Godessy,_ Katie? Homer definitely copyrighted that in 630 B.C. So this is like, plagiarism or something."

"That's The Odessy, Travis. This is a play on words. You're just too stupid to even get the joke."

There was a broad silence. Finally Travis muttered under his breath, "You always have to one-up me, don't you?"

Luckily for Percy and Annabeth, they had the morning shift of handing out newspapers and were done for the rest of the day. The real rush came in the afternoon, after rumors weaved their way through the camp about the paper's release. Hands were flying, paper tearing, giggles bubbling, and blushes blazing as people flocked to the paper stand like monsters to a texting demigod.

Those who were featured in the articles could not find refuges to the mayhem anywhere in camp- except for maybe a certain son of Poseidon who could hide on the bottom of the ocean. Annabeth's cracking point was near at hand, Clarisse's had already occurred with a spectacular explosion of colorful language and threats that would no doubt be fulfilled. The authors were bombarded with questions, compliments, and concerns all day.

"You're _really _the executive architect of Olympus?"

"You and Travis are really official? Or was that just Drew's perspective?"

"Do you think I'd be good enough to try out for a sword instructor?"

"Where's the Hermes cabin? I need Travis and Connor to get a hand on some Mary Kay makeup- my mascara bottle just exploded!"

It seemed things couldn't possibly get more insane, but then the bomb was dropped.

"Hermes just stopped by to deliver the extra copies to Olympus!" Miss Lilac was announced, clasping her hands together as a smile stretched from one pointed ear to another.

"Because being humiliated by only our closest friends wasn't enough," Annabeth moaned, squeezing Percy's hand purple.

"Just wait until Athena reads Drew's article," he sighed forlornly, wondering if he ought to start writing his will. Miss Lilac was absurdly oblivious to the absolute misery of her class. Clarisse had pleaded on bended knee and Connor had started a petition, but to no avail. The copies were to be handed out to the gods in less than an hour.

"Our teacher is so obsessed with proving that her course deserves to be taken seriously that she had seriously taken things too far," Katie blurted out in one breath to the group once she had left.

"But what can we do?" Chris sighed.

"Sit and wait. In a week this will-,"

"-All be over," Percy finished for her. "Yeah, we're aware."

The next hour consisted of sixty full minutes, each one a century.

"Do you think they're reading them right now?" Clarisse wondered aloud.

"What if they like, try to talk to us about it?" McKenna asked, chewing a pedicured nail. Drew threw her a look of disdain and immediately the finger was snatched from her lips.

"Anyone know a way to refuse an Iris-message?"

That was one of the problems of the demigods' messaging system. There was no way to ignore someone's calls without being rude and obvious. And there was no such thing as an IM message machine or voicemail, though Hephaestus was working with Iris to program one.

An imaged swirled into focus next to Annabeth, causing her to jump a good three feet into the air. Hermes' nose appeared in the floating picture, then one big eye.

"Um, is this thing on?" he asked, a finger tapping the image and causing it to flicker a second or two. Someone was heard snickering in the background and a muffled voice said, "Try stepping back four feet and try again."

Hermes reddened and backed up. Now his whole face fit in the image. "Er, sorry. I'm not really familiar with these things. I was just calling to talk to you guys about your assignment at camp." The whole class of demigods gathered closely around the Iris message nervously.

"I'll be brief because some other gods want a turn to speak. I just wanted to make sure you thank your teacher for the excellent opportunity to use the Ancient Greek language. It's great practice for later life. And, um... boys," he turned to Travis and Connor, who blushed scarlet. Hermes gave a light chuckle. "It's nice to know, by the looks of Travis's advertisement, that you are utilizing your um, swindling and sneaking skills. And Connor... make sure you establish boundaries with your girlfriends. I take it you are not attending the fireworks single?" Connor found immediate interest in his shoes. "

"Er, no Dad. I've got a date."

Hermes sighed. "Well I guess the advertisement was successful then. Nice job, guys," he said, addressing the whole crowd. Before walking out of the image's frame, he gave Percy a small nod, a furtive movement that went unnoticed to everyone else. Percy caught it though, and could have sworn there was a spark of respect in the god's eyes. It was clear Percy's letter had not gone unread.

Aphrodite's rosy face appeared in the image next.

"Oh, what a _wonderful _assignment- send my approval to your Miss Lilac!" she began. "Drew and McKenna- know how proud your mom is of your reading into other couple's relationships! Perhaps you can send me a monthly periodical of the latest drama in the future. I would absolutely love that!" She turned to the others.

"Well, it seems that this who little gang has found significant others. Congratulations Clarisse and Chris, Travis and Katie. And Percy and Annabeth...You have no idea how delighted I was to watch the finale of your show on Hephaestus TV! I was so afraid they were going to end another season with no resolution like last year's at Mt. Saint Helens, but finally there was a happy ending! Oh, young love!"

Percy and Annabeth looked at each other with looks of pure horror: they were a _television show?_ But they had bigger matters to worry about, for Athena's face had just materialized in the message.

"I'll keep this quick, there's much to do with the reconstruction of Olympus. Annabeth- very nice article on the blueprint plans. Your Ancient Greek grammar and spelling was flawless as well. To everyone else- nice work, know how fortunate you are to have such an exemplary teacher. This is a great exercise, not only in learning an important language but also in discipline and initiative. And to Percy Jackson- all I can say is that the words of those Aphrodite girls better be false. Otherwise, expect my blessing to be repealed and my wrath unleashed."

Percy's face drained of all color and he managed to bob his head up and down. "Glad to have that straightened out." And with that, she strolled gracefully out of the image.

Ares walked past the screen, nodded at it, and continued on. Clarisse blew out a breath she had been holding for the past five minutes and gave a shaky smile. A nod was the closest gesture of approval the god of war could give. Some other gods including Demeter, Hera, and Apollo came by to offer compliments and constructive criticism, but it was Poseidon who finally wrapped the call up.

"Great work guys! I know you probably all hate your teacher for putting you through all this during your break from school and time of leisure, but I'm sure you all learned something from this assignment. You all did a great job." He lifted his hand to cut off the connection, but then remembered something.

"Oh yeah- Percy. Keep in mind that I don't exactly adore your choice in a girlfriend, but know I send my regards to both of you. It's Annabeth, right?" he said, forcing a small smile in her direction. She nodded, biting her lip. "Be good to him, all right? It can't be easy, taking care of my son." She laughed in a agreement, ignoring the indignant look on Percy's face.

Poseidon gave them a wink, and then the image melted back into nothingness.

The whole crowd shuttered in unison with of sighs of relief. Somehow, they had all survived the message with their dignities unscathed.

"We're alive!" Travis exclaimed at last, shattering the tense silence that had settled heavily on the demigods' shoulders. There was a chorus of cheers and a myriad of high-fives and fist pumps.

"Maybe the gods were right," Annabeth said once the group's jabbering had died down. "We all learned a lot from this assignment, we should cut Miss Lilac some slack."

There were some nods of acquiescence.

"I did learn a lot about Ancient Greek verb conjugations," Clarisse offered, supporting Annabeth's statement.

"I learned that rumors spread like viruses at camp," Drew put in.

"I found out what an obituary was."

"I learned that I'm capable of sitting in the same seat for an hour and actually accomplishing something."

They reached unanimous agreement that they should forgive Miss Lilac; no grudges held.

Two days later, the class met again to debrief on the project's outcome. They all slumped in their seats, twiddling pencils in their fingers, but a watchful eye might notice that the halfbloods paid a little closer attention to the lesson than in the past.

Miss Lilac was finishing her lecture, which consisted mostly of "I'm so proud of you all"s and "you're such a wonderful class"s.

"I hope you'll all agree with me when I say this was a wonderful learning experience and a wonderful display of your knowledge of Ancient Greek. And because of the success of this assignment," she cried, "We are going to tackle an even more ambitious project- but one that I think you are certainly capable of handling!"

The demigods' jaws dropped and blood boiled furiously in their veins. All the positive conclusions they had came to about Miss Lilac were reduced to shreds after their teacher's statement.

"I've decided we're going to write a book," she continued, blissfully unaware of the glares that pointed at her like daggers throughout the room. "Every one of you has a story to tell- adventures and quests that need to be shared with the rest of the camp. My idea was that we could all collaborate to write the autobiography of someone in this class."

This statement was greeted with a wall of silence. A _book? _That was a monumental task; it had seemed impossible for the group of inadequately educated demigods to complete a newspaper! But a book- this was an endeavor of a different magnitude. This could take _years._

Then the demigods started to wrap their minds around the idea. It was true, they had all been through plenty of trials that were worth writing about. And no one could deny that they had secretly enjoyed the feeling of accomplishment that came with completing the newspaper. Maybe, just maybe...

Annabeth's mind was an ocean, and right now a squall beset it. Thoughts and possibilities were tossed about like foaming sea waves, and suddenly an idea bobbed to its surface. Her hand shot into the air.

"Miss Lilac, if we were to do this idea of yours- I think we should write about Percy." There were murmurs of assent throughout the room. Percy shifted nervously, not enjoying the attention this proposition was bringing to him.

"Really, I'm sure other people have better stories to tell-,"

"Don't be stupid," Clarisse snapped, "you've been through more than all of us in the room added together. We would need to write a whole series to cover all the quests you've been on."

"I think we have reached agreement," said Miss Lilac, scratching the name Percy Jackson on the blackboard behind her. "Anyone have ideas of where we should begin?"

"From the day he arrived at camp," Katie Gardner piped up.

"No," Connor countered. "The day the monsters found him."

Annabeth nodded in agreement. "And I think I've got a name for the book," she announced.

Miss Lilac looked at her eagerly. "Let's hear it."

Annabeth took a deep breath. "The Lightning Thief."

**The end! I hope you enjoyed the story and it brought some entertainment to you. I'm not currently planning to write a sequel, but things might change if an idea surfaces in my mind's ocean :) Again, thank you for reading and reviewing, your opinion is what kept up my steady updating. Be sure to check out my other stories and leave a final review! It would mean the world to me.**

**Write on. **

**-Just a girl with ideas**


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